Wrapping-machine



E. L. SMITH.

WRAPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION man MAR. s, 1920.

Patented June 21, 1921;

INVE TOR z/zz% ATTORNEYS UiilTiEQ STATES PATENT QFHCE.

ELMER L. SMITH, 0F SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, .ASSIt'iiN'OR TO PACKAGE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORA- TION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

WRAPPING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 21, 1921.

Application filed March 5, 1920. Serial No. 363,423.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELMER L. SMITH, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in 'Wrapping-Machines, of which the,

following is a specification.

This lnvention relates to improvements in wrapping machines, more particularly to machines for wrapping chocolate bars and articles of a similar character. These chocolate bars are usually wrapped in an inner wrapper and an outside wrapper or label, and it is to the application of these wrappers that the invention specifically relates.

Chocolate bars are ordinarily made by a molding process and often contain nuts, on account of whicli the outer surfaces are uneven. This unevenness tends to cause the wrappers to slip upon the bars during their passage through the machine. Also, the bars are not uniform, particularly as to thickness and the machines in which they are now wrapped have their chute and tumble box pockets adjusted for the thicker bars and as a consequence there is not sufficient tension upon the thinner bars and their wrappers, which results in the wrappers not being properly applied'to the bars.

An object of this invention is to provide tensioning devices that will exert an even pressure upon all bars being wrapped on the machine, irrespective of the thickness of the bars being: wrapped.

Another object is to provide a device that will prevent the displacement of a wrapper or label during the ejectment of the article from the tumble boxes.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the following description and illustrations showing the preferred embodiment of, my invention, which is particularly applicable to the machine shown and described in my, Patent No. 1,313,864 dated August 19, 1919,

Figure 1 is a side elevation;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

. of chocolate.

Fig. 3 is a sectional label tensioning arm;

F 1g. 4 is a sectional elevation showing the wrapper tensioning arm;

Fig. 5 IS an enlarged section through a tumble box pocket;

Fig. 6 is an end elevation of one of the tumble box pockets; and

F1g. 7 is a side elevation of one of the tumble-box pockets. I In this machine as in the machine shown in the prior patent, above referred to, an article such as a chocolate bar with a wrapper is fed into the feed chute or channel 8 by a feeding arm or pusher 9. As the article is thus fed into the receiving end of the chute or channel, the wrapper is wrapped partly about the article, and a further adelevation showing the va-ncement by the pusher 9 carries the artlcle into a pocket 10 of an intermittently rotated tumble box 11. This tumble box upon being rotated 180 degrees, brings the article into alinement with the chute or channel 12 and a plunger 13 ejects the article from the tumble box pocket into the chute 12, and during this ejectment, the extended flap of the wrapper is wrapped about the article. The pusher '13 carries the article and wrapper along the channel '12 to a position where the extended wrapper ends are folded in a manner described in the prior patent referred to. After the folding operati-m, the article is further advanced by a pusher 14 to a pocket 16 of the tumble box 17, and during this advancement, a label L in position in a suitable label slot 15 has been wrapped partially about the bar This tumble box 17 also rotates 180 degrees and when at rest alines its discharge pocket with the chute 18, whereupon a pusher 19 ejects the article and label into the chute 18 which completes the wrapping of the label L about the article.

In order to insure the wrapper being wrapped tightly upon the chocolate bar, I'

and secured thereto, a lever 23. This lever 23 swings with the tensioning arm 20 and has in threaded engagement .with its end portion a screw and nut 24 which normally strikes the lowermost side; of the chute member 22 to limit the movement of arm 20 in one direction. The arm 20 is normally held in the position shown in Fig. 4, by a spring 25 secured by a suitable connection 25 to the bed of the machine and acts to retain the arm 20 in this position while the screw and nut 24 limit its movement to the rear. A controlling arm 26 is also secured to the lever 23 and as best shown in Fig. 1,

is of such shape that when the pusher 9 ad-.

vances an article into the chute, the arm 26 is engaged by the pusher 9 which holds the tensionin arm 20 in the dotted position shown in ig. 4 for the purpose as will hereinafter be described.

The member 22 of, the chute is carried upon a stud 26' which is slidably mounted in the socket 28 of the-bed and allows this member 22 to be raised or lowered to adjust the width of the chute 8 and is held in its adjusted position by the set screw 27 The upper side of the member 22 which forms a side of the chute 8 is provided with a plurality of V-shaped parallel sharpened ridges 27 similar to those shown in Fig. 2. These ridges 27 permit of the chute 8 being adjusted to a width approximately equal to the thickness of an average bar of chocolate,

and merely cuts grooves or scores a chocolate bar of unusual thickness and therefor allows it to pass through the chute. A fiat plate without the ridges would necessarily be adjusted for the thickest bars, otherwise such extra thick bars could not enter the chute. This wide adjustment provides a chute too wide for the proper tensioning of a wrapper upon the average bar. The member 22 is further slotted or bifurcated as at 22' to allow the arm 20 to function properly within the chute 8.

The chocolate bar a and wrapper w are fed by the pusher 9 into the entrance of the chute 8 and strike the upstanding tensioning arm 20 and as the bar is further advanced forwardly, the article is forced upwardly against the fiat top plate of the chute by this arm 20. The arm thus exerts a drag upon the wrapper which is partially wrapped about the bar, and as the bar a is further advanced, by the pusher 9, the arm 20 is depressed by the bar and allows the bar to pass over and beyond the contact points of the arm.

This arm 20 being under tension, as heretofore described, it is now desired that it remain in its depressed position until the wrapper "flap haspassed over and by the same, to prevent the arm from pressing 'upon the portion of the wrapper flap extending to the rear of the article. The continued depression of the arm 20 is accomplished by the pusher 9 engaging the controlling arm 26wherein it will be seen the pusher 9 will hold the arm 20 in a depressed position while the article is further advanced into a pocket 10 of the'tumble box. The return stroke of the pusher gradually releases the controlling arm 26 which allows the arm 20 to assume its normal position as in Figs. 1 and 4.

The tumble box 11 on rotating carries to a discharging position the article a and wrapper w and when at rest, the pusher 13 advances to eject the article and wrapper from the pocket 13- into the chute. The wrapper w is folded about the article a as in Figs. 5 and 6 and as the article is ejected, the wrapper is laid against the bottom of the article by the action of the bottom of the chute against the wrapper 'w.

The tumble box pocket is preferably constructed of a rigid plate 30 and a resilient or spring pressed plate 31 as in Figs. 1, 5, 6 and 7. The articlea while in the pocket is pressed against the-rigid plate 30 by the spring-pressed plate 31 and this pressing action tends while the article is being ejected to shift the under wrapper flap rearwardly off the article, that is, as the article is advanced by the pusher 13 in a direction opposed to the direction in which the under flap of thewrapper was first folded about the article, this under flap of the wrapper is inclined to stick tdthe rigid plate 30 and become loosened from the article. Also, if the rigid plate 30 were flat,'it would be difficult to move the pusher sufficiently close to the flat plate to prevent the loosened under flap of the wrapper from creeping under the forward edge of the pusher.

To prevent this loosening and to insure that the wrapper w follows with the article, I provide a plurality of grooves 32 in the rigid plate and corresponding projections 33 on the pusher 14 that interfit the grooves 32 of the plate 30. These projections serve as an abutment to back up the folded corner of the Wrapper or label as best shown in Fig. 5, and make it impossible for the under flap of the wrapper to creep under the forward edge of the pusher.

The articleand wrapper thus on being ejected from the tumble box pocket 10 and deposited in the chute or channel 12 are further acted upon by folders (not shown) to effect a folding of the extended wrapper ends.

After the folding operation,. a pusher 14 advances the wrapped article along the chute or channel and into a label L properly positionedin the label slot 15' and in advance of the channel'34. The article is thus fed into the chute 34 and carries with it the label L which is partially wrapped thereabout and in the same manner as was the wrapper w, in the channel 8. To insure that the; label L- is properly tensioned about the article as it is fed into the channel or chute 34, I provide a tension arm 35 secured to the rotatable shaft 36 (see Figs. 2 and 3). A controlling arm'37 is secured to the outer end of the rotatable shaft 36 and is adapted to be engaged by the pusher 14 which en gagement will retain the arm 35 in a raised position during the passage of the article therepast. A. rod 39-is secured to the support 15 and is bent to form a spring support. A tension spring 38 is connected to the rod 39 and the arm 37 to cause the shaft 36 and the tensionin arm 35 fixed thereto to return to the position shown in Fig. 3

when the control arm 37 is released by the plunger 14. p

The upper plate of the chute 34 vided with longitudinal. V-sha ridges 27 to bear upon the t icker bars as in the chute 8 and the label L is tensioned upon the article during its passage through is proed sharpened the chute or channel 34- by the arm 35 in the same manner as was the wrapper in the chute 8. The tensioning arm 35 is held from contacting with the extended flap of the label L by the controlling arm 37 being engaged by the pusher 14 and is returned to its normal position as is the arm 20 and,

rod 26 of the chute The article a wi h the label L wrapped partly about it is received in a cket 16 of the tumble box 17 after which t e tumble box rotates 180 degrees to bring the pocket to a discharging position when the article and its label L are ejected therefrom and into the chute 18 for the laying down of the extended label fla This tumble box 17 is provided with pockets similar to those of the tumble box 11 and comprises a rigid plate 30 and a resilient plate 31. The pusher 19 also has projecting portions 33 to interfit the grooves 32 of the plate and act as on the usher 13, to back up the corner of the to ded label during its ejectment from the pocket 16,

to prevent the displacement of the label from the article.

lVhat I claim i's- 1. In a wrapping machine in combination, a wrapping channel having a side with sharpened ridges extending longitudinally thereof, and a pusher .for advancing partially wrapped articles along the said channel in contact with said ridges.

2. In a wrappingv machine in combination, a wrapping channel having a grooved side, a pusher for advancing partially wrapped articles along the said channel, said pusher having projections interfitting the grooves of said channeled side.

3. In a wrapping machine, a tumble box having pockets for carrying a partially wrapped article, each pocket comprising a resilient plate and a rigid plate, the latter having longitudinal grooves therein, a pusher operable to eject the partially wrapped article from the said tumble box pockets, said pusher having projections interfitting the said grooves.

4. In a wrapping machine in combination, a wrapping channel having a grooved side, said channel arranged to receive an article with a Wrapper partially folded about the same with a side portion of the wrapper lying between said article and said grooved side and a pusher for advancing said partially wrapped article along said channel in a direction opposed to the direction in. which the side fold of said wrapper was made, said pusher having projections inter- [itting the grooves of said channeled side.

5. In a wrapping machine in combination, a folding recess, means for pushing an arti: cle and wrapper into said recess for partially folding the wrapper about the article, a tension device located adjacent the entrance of said recess for pressing the wrapper against the side of Said article to exert a drag on the same as the article and wrapper move therepast and means to hold said tension device from pressing against an extended flap of the wrapper after the article has moved 'therepast.

in the said chute and normally in the path of and operable by the advancement of said articles to exert a drag upon the wrapper being folded, means operable by the said pusher to prevent the said tensioning arm from pushing against the said extended wrapper flap after the article has advanced be 0nd the tensioning arm.

In a wrapping machine, a chute for receiving partially wrapped articles having an extended flap, a pusher operable to advance the partially wrapped article along the said chute, a yieldable tensioning arm mounted in the said chute and normally in the path of an operable by the advancement of said article to exert a drag upon the wrapper being folded, means operable by the said pusher to prevent the said tensioning arm from pushing against the said extended wrapper flap after the article has advanced beyond the tensioning arm, and means to return the tensioning arm to an operable positlon.

8. In a wrapping machine, a chute for re ceiving a partially wrapped article with one extending flap, a pusher operable to push an article and wrapper into and through the portion relatively narrow compared with the length of the article, pivotally mounted upon a side of the said chute and adapted for a swinging movement in the direction of travel of the article, and means to force the said arm against the article during its advancement past the arm.

9. In a wrapping machine, a chute for receiving a partially wrapped article with one extending flap, a pusher operable to push an article and wrapper into and through the said chute, a tensioning device adjacent the entrance of said chute to exert a drag upon the article and Wrapper, said device comprisarticle during its advancement ing an arm of less width than the article, pivotally mounted upon a side of the said chute and adapted for a swinging movement in the direction of travel of the article, and means to force the said arm against the past the arm and means operable by the said pusher to prevent the saidarm from pushing against the extended wrapper flap after the article has passed thereby.

Signed at Springfield, Mass, this 3d day of March, 1920.

ELMER L. SMITH. 

